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Your Guide to Tooth Extractions

Tooth extractions can be performed simply, without much discomfort or disturbance to your soft tissue, or surgically, which requires a more invasive procedure. What can you expect from tooth extraction? Our dentist in Kennewick, WA, provides information about the procedure that most patients want to know.

Who Needs Tooth Extraction?

·Patients with severely infected or decayed teeth

·Those whose teeth have loosened due to gum disease

·Anyone who has a tooth that has been broken beyond repair

·Patients who do not have enough room for wisdom teeth or whose wisdom teeth have become impacted

The Removal Process

In a simple extraction, your dentist uses forceps to gently rock the tooth back and forth, loosening the grip of the connective tissue until it glides out of the socket. Surgical extraction requires cutting into the gum tissue to access the base of the tooth. Your dentist may take the tooth out in one piece or in several pieces. Once the socket is empty, it is cleaned and sutured. Often, sedation dentistry will be utilized to ensure patient comfort during the procedure.

What Happens After Extraction?

·You will be given a gauze pad to bite down on. This encourages a blood clot in order to stop the socket from bleeding and speed recovery. When the bleeding has stopped, you can carefully remove the gauze.

·There may be some discomfort but it can be managed with over the counter medication.

·In the event of swelling, ice can be placed on the outside of the face but this is only helpful in the first 24 hours.

·Avoid brushing the area for a few days but do rinse with a warm salt water mixture.